Mindi’s Round 1 Prediction
Boston vs. Montreal – Boston in 6 (Lucic and Bergeron will be the shining stars, but Recchi will save the day on more than one occasion. D’Agostini will cause the Habs far too much trouble. Price will sadly fall apart. He has yet to fully recover from Carboneau’s grand douchiness. Montreal will be feeling too insecure in their standing with the organization as more news of a future sale arises.)
Washington vs. Rangers – Washington in 7 (The Rangers will give them a run for their money, but all the Rangers really have for them is Antropov. Naslund, as usual, is underperforming; Avery’s an ass. As much as I’d like to say that all the Caps have is Ovechkin, it’s just not true. They also have Backstrom and Semin and Federov. Federov isn’t putting a lot of points to his name, but he’s got more playoff experience than most can dream of. Regardless, Ovechkin needs to be taken down a peg.)
New Jersey vs. Carolina – New Jersey in 5 (The ‘Caines have a decent roster, and they have plenty of playoff experience for such a young team. They already have a cup under their belt! Pun very much intended. Nevertheless, the Devils have an embarrassment of riches with their netminders. They won’t pierce that wall often enough for it to make any real difference)
Pittsburg vs. Philadelphia – Pittsburg in 7 (Crosby will have a rocky start, but will pull himself together after the first two games; Malkin will be ever present; Staal will be his usual unshakable self. Briere will be quite present for the Flyers side.)
San Jose vs. Anaheim – San Jose in 6/7 (I haven’t decided if it will go to 6 or 7 yet. Both teams have a lot of strengths to provide, but Nabokov’s netminding and the Sharks’ strong offensive line will prove too much for the Ducks’ strong defense line)
Detroit vs. Columbus – Detroit sweeps (There’s just no contest. It’s almost unfair. It’ll be a total sweep.)
Vancouver vs. St. Louis – Vancouver in 6 (The Blues are far more hungry than Vancouver is; they have the future of the franchise to protect. Nevertheless their lines aren’t as deep as Vancouver’s. The Sedin’s will do their usual power play funny business that will make you want to hurt someone; Salo will save the day with his Sammi Salo Special; either Rypien or O’Brien will face a game suspension; Kesler and Wellwood will improve their score sheet and face-off record. Strachan will be the top player on the Blues’ side as his payoff experience will be a major asset.)
Chicago vs. Calgary – Chicago in 6 (Calgary is and will be limping all the way to the golf course. Not much noteworthiness will occur in this series.)
